---------------------------------
Bard Guide for Final Fantasy XI
version 1.0
---------------------------------
by Gary Tong, 2004
Joras on Fenrir
Email: joras32@yahoo.com
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Table of Contents:
01 - Introduction
02 - Races
03 - Bard Quest
04 - Subjobs
05 - Bard Abilities
06 - Working a Bard
07 - Songs
08 - Equipment
09 - Advanced Tips
10 - FAQ
11 - Thanks
Version History:
1.0 - Initial Version
-------------------
01 - Introduction
-------------------
Welcome to my bard guide. This guide is intended to be a starting reference.
Most of the information here is experienced first-hand, although a substantial
part was gleaned from message boards, web sites, and talking with other bards.
As such, don't hold statements made in this FAQ as gospel, but merely a
starting point for your exploration into Vana'diel.
So, where to begin? The bard class is for the hyperactive. Once you come
into your full power, you will _never_ be resting. There's always something
to do. In any given battle you'll probably end up singing between 4-8 songs
with the odd spell thrown in there every once in a while. The class also
involves a lot of running.
The reward for all this work is ease of grouping and fast leveling. Bard is
also one of the cheaper classes, as songs are pretty cheap and you aren't very
equipment-dependent.
-------------------
02 - Races
-------------------
Bards mostly rely on Charisma to land their sleep songs. Other than that,
they're not extremely stat dependent. I would probably rank the races in the
following order:
Tarutaru:
These little buggers have good charisma, and plenty of MP. As most bards go
with WHM sub, the MP helps with cures and spells and such. Since bards almost
never get hit, the low HP doesn't really matter. Plus, you get to /panic
Hume:
Same charisma as Tarutaru, and decent MP. This is my personal choice, since
humes can do decently well as any class.
Mithra/Elvaan:
These two races are about the same as far as bard-ness goes. Elvaan get about
12 more charisma at level 75, and Mithra get about 30 more MP. At the lower
levels the MP makes a difference, but once you start doing BCNMs or HNMs where
successfully sleeping a monster makes the difference between life and death,
Elvaan starts edging out Mithra.
Galka:
Not much to say here. Galkans have low MP and low charisma. They make super
special bards.
-------------------
03 - Bard Quest
-------------------
This quest involves no fighting at all, and will actually make you about four
or five thousand gil. The quest starts in the Merry Minstrel Meadhouse (I-8)
in Lower Jeuno. First talk to Mertaire, then Bki Tbujhja, then Tuh
Almobankha. They will tell you about a song rune in Buburimu Peninsula. Now
go outside to the Auction House and buy a "Parchment" from the Leathercrafting
materials section. I would recommend setting your HP in Jeuno. Hop on a
chocobo in Port Jeuno and be prepared for a long ride.
Make your way to Buburimu (Sauromugue Champaign -> Meriphataud Mountains ->
Tahrongi Canyon -> Buburimu Peninsula). Head to the Khoonta Dunes at G-9. If
you're on foot, watch for Bogeys. Once you hit the shore, head west along the
water through the cave. Once you're out, go NW for a short while to the Song
Rune at F-9. Dismount and trade the Parchment to the runes for a cutscene.
Head back to Jeuno. Fastest way is probably to run to Windurst, change to a
level 1 class, and suicide back to Jeuno, but whatever. Once there, talk to
Mertaire for another cutscene and some gil. Talk to Bki Tbujhja (damn her
parents) to get information on another song rune in Valkurm Dunes. Hop
another chocobo in Upper Jeuno and off you go.
In the Valkurm Dunes, head N-W towards the secret beach at B-7. Once you're
through the tunnel, stick to the left hand wall and you'll find the rune
easily. Click on the song rune for another cutscene, some more gil, and the
bard flag. Congratulations, you're now a bard!
-------------------
04 - Subjobs
-------------------
There aren't many viable bard combinations. I'm not going to say that certain
combinations suck (they do), just that they aren't the "best" (because they
suck). These include, in no particular order, Paladin, Dark Knight, Warrior,
Monk, Beast Master, Dragoon, Samurai, and Ranger. The main problem with all
these classes is that they are there to do melee damage. As a bard in a good
group, you simply won't have time to do much melee. What with trying to keep
2 offensive and 4+ defensive songs going, there isn't a huge window to smack
things around. Bards also don't get many good weapons. So, without further
rambling, here are the other subjobs.
White Mage:
Far and away the most popular choice. Subbing white mage will allow you to
cure damage, remove status effects, debuff, and cast the bar-ra spells.
Really, there aren't enough good things I can say about the WHM sub. An added
bonus is that starting at level 32, you can start doing the divine seal/curaga
trick. Doing this mid-battle usually spells death for the WHM, since he has
most likely been pumping out Cure & Cure IIs like mad. However, a bard can
usually do this to save the party and still not get aggro. The extra HP and
better armor on the bard doesn't hurt either.
Red Mage:
This is another good choice. Like white mage, you get cures and an expanded
library of debuffs. You also get fast cast at level 30, which will help you
get your songs out faster. Off the top of my head I believe it's reduces the
8-second cast time of songs to 6 seconds, but I could be wrong. This helps a
ton in getting those 6 initial songs out. I'd put brd/rdm 2nd behind brd/whm.
Black Mage:
Not a great choice. Black Mages get some decent debuffs, but your low mana
pool won't really allow you to blast away with spells. Spell power will be
slightly lacking as well. I wouldn't bother.
Summoner:
The main virtue of summoners is their huge mana pool. The problem here is
that a summoner sub doesn't get anything to spend their MP on other than half-
leveled avatars. Nothing else to say. This subjob sucks.
Ninja:
A good subjob if you're soloing. At level 20 you get dual wield and at level
24 you get Utsusemi. By dual wielding stat+ weapons like small sword or
decurion's dagger, you get decent attack, further enhanced by songs. Do not
think that you'll be a good soloer though. Bards just aren't built for
soloing.
Thief:
The only use for this class is treasure hunter and steal. Past trying to earn
some gil, there's not much to recommend this sub. Only use this combination
if you are farming.
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05 - Bard Abilities
-------------------
Squenix kinda shafted the bards with their abilities. Here is the full and
complete list:
Level Name Effect
1 Soul Voice Doubles the effect of songs (2-hour recharge)
5 Resist Silence Silence resistance up (passive)
25 Resist Silence Silence resistance up (passive)
45 Resist Silence Silence resistance up some more (passive)
And that's it. Soul Voice is only really useful when you positively
absolutely need to land a sleep spell. For things like Paeon or Minuet, it
simply doubles the effect. Thus, Paeon III will regen for 6 hp / 3 seconds,
Ballad will regen for 2 mp, and so on. Once you cast Soul Voice, you will
have to re-cast your songs for the added effect. Usually, I just use this
whenever I want to. Unless you're in an area with a lot of aggro, it's not
worth saving up.
As for the Resist Silences, there is some debate as to whether they even work.
It's okay though. We get kick-ass songs.
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06 - Working a Bard
-------------------
A bard is there to make the party as efficient as possible. Thus, the #1
priority is to keep the right songs on the right members of the party at all
times. In practice, this becomes quite a bit harder than it sounds.
You can cast a song every 8 seconds (6 with fast cast). The song actually
takes effect after 6 seconds (4 with fast cast). If you move before that,
your song will most likely be interrupted. After the song takes effect, you
can move with no ill effects. Whether someone receives the effect of the song
depends on their distance to you. There is no visual indicator however, so
you will have to eyeball the distance. Also, the song's area of effect is
always centered on you. Thus, you will have to do a lot of running.
Positioning is important. This is because each party member can only have two
song effects at one time. In the midst of battle, the mages won't want minuet
and the meleers won't want learned etude. Ideally, you want your group to be
positioned like so:
x - MOB o - Fighters * - mages + - you
oxoo + **
This way, when you need to cast madrigal and minuet, you can move up and only
affect the melee group like this
_______
/ \
/ \
| oxoo+ | **
\ /
\ /
-------
And when you need to cast ballad and etude, you can move back like this
_______
/ \
/ \
oxoo | +** |
\ /
\ /
-------
At the end of the battle, if you want to cast paeon and ballad on everyone,
switch to a harp (for greater casting range) and move to the middle like so:
__________
/ \
/ \
/ \
| oxoo + ** |
\ /
\ /
\ /
----------
A typical battle goes something like this:
1) Run to Melee
2) Sing Madrigal
3) Sing Minuet
4) Sing Requiem on the Mob
5) Cast a bar-ra spell if necessary (and if you're sub WHM)
5) Run back to Mages
6) Sing Ballad
7) Sing a Threnody on the Mob
8) Sing an Etude for your Mages
9) Wait for monster to die (and cure, dispel, whatever)
10) Run up and cast Paeon on everyone.
11) Cast ballad on everyone.
At the end of step 8, you will have 2 defensive songs on your fighters, 2
defensive songs on your mages, 2 offensive songs on the mob. Probably takes
about a minute to do.
To make things quite a bit more complicated, there are two types of
instruments. Wind instruments, like the flute and cornette, and string
instruments like the harp. Wind instruments have a tight range, and string
instruments have a much larger range. Thus, if you're playing paeon and
trying to cover the whole party, you should equip a stringed instrument.
Likewise, if you're playing minuet, you should probably equip a wind
instrument. Thankfully, this can be macro'd. My macros are set up like such:
Ctrl-1: Alt-1:
/ma "Foe Lullaby" /ma "Regen"
/equip range "Royal Spearman's Horn"
Ctrl-2: Alt-2:
/ma "Foe Requiem" /ma "Valor Minuet"
/equip range "Royal Spearman's Horn" /equip range "Cornette"
Ctrl-3: Alt-3:
/ma "Magic Finale" /ma "Sword Madrigal"
/equip range "Traversiere"
Ctrl-4: Alt-4:
/sea /ma "Mage's Ballad"
Ctrl-5: Alt-5:
/ma "Earth Threnody" /ma "Learned Etude"
/equip range "Piccolo +1"
Ctrl-6: Alt-6: (Changes constantly)
/ma "Fire Threnody" /ma "Barfira"
/equip range "Piccolo +1"
Ctrl-7: Alt-7: (Changes)
/ma "Lightning Threnody"
/equip range "Piccolo +1"
Ctrl-8: Alt-8: (Changes)
/ma "Water Threnody"
/equip range "Piccolo +1"
Ctrl-9: Alt-9:
/ma "Ice Threnody" /equip range "Royal Spearman's Horn"
/equip range "Piccolo +1"
Ctrl-0: Alt-0:
/ma "Wind Threnody" /equip range "Maple Harp"
/equip range "Piccolo +1"
This is all done from memory, so pardon a possible mistake somewhere in there.
The reason why the /equip commands are after you start casting is because
switching instruments doesn't interrupt casting, and the instrument used to
cast the spell is actually determined 8 seconds after you start casting. This
way, I can have the horn equipped, start casting ballad with Alt-4, and then
press Alt-0 to equip the harp so that when my ballad takes effect, it covers
the whole group. For the higher-level songs, just put II and III after the
name of the spell within the quotes. So when you are using Mage's Ballad II,
the macro becomes /ma "Mage's Ballad II"
-------------------
07 - Songs
-------------------
I'll update this with spells costs eventually. Also, keep in mind that by no
means should you have every single spell. It's a good idea to keep Minuet,
Madrigal, Paeon, Ballad, and Lullabies updated though. Magic Finale is very
important. You only really need Spirited Etude and Learned Etude. Also you
can scrape by with Wind, Ice & Thunder threnodies, but I highly recommend
getting them all.
Min Lvl Spell Name Effect
1 Knight's Minne Party defense up
Guy by chocobo stables in South San d'oria (I-11) sells this up to Minne III
3 Valor Minuet Party attack up
Harmodios's Music Shop in Bastok Markets (L-8) sells this up to Minuet III
5 Army's Paeon Party HP Regen (1 hp / 3 sec)
Harmodios's Music Shop in Bastok Markets (L-8) sells this up to Paeon IV
7 Foe Requiem Enemy damage over time (1 dmg / 3 sec)
Harmodios's Music Shop in Bastok Markets (L-8) sells this up to Requiem IV
9 Herb Pastoral Party poison resistance up
Drugstore in Windurst Woods (I-8)
10 Light Threnody Enemy light resistance down
One of the merchants in Southern San d'Oria (can't remember which one)
11 Sword Madrigal Party accuracy up
Phoenix Perch Inn in Northern San d'Oria (F-8)
12 Dark Threnody Enemy dark resistance down
Bastok Markets definitely. General Goods I think (E-11)
13 Sheepfoe Mambo Party evasion up
Dohdjuma in Selbina, along with Rye Flour and Selbina Milk
14 Earth Threnody Enemy earth resistance down
Windurst Waters Catalyst Shop (H-9)
15 Army's Paeon II Party HP Regen (2 hp / 3 sec)
Harmodios's Music Shop in Bastok Markets (L-8) sells this up to Paeon IV
16 Foe Lullaby Puts the targeted enemy to sleep
Dropped by Yagudo Piper in Giddeus
16 Water Threnody Enemy water resistance down
M&P's Market in Upper Jeuno (G-6)
17 Foe Requiem II Enemy damage over time (not sure how much)
Harmodios's Music Shop in Bastok Markets (L-8) sells this up to Requiem IV
18 Wind Threnody Enemy wind resistance down
M&P's Market in Upper Jeuno (G-6)
19 Scop's Operetta Party silence resistance up
Valeriano (Traveling minstrel troupe in 1st ranked city)
20 Fire Threnody Enemy fire resistance down
Windurst Waters Catalyst Shop (H-9)
21 Knight's Minne II Party defense up
Guy by chocobo stables in South San d'oria (I-11) sells this up to Minne III
22 Ice Threnody Enemy ice resistance down
Bastok Markets definitely. General Goods I think (E-11)
22 Enchanting Etude Party charisma up
Port Jeuno's duty-free shop, also in Windurst Woods, not sure where though
23 Valor Minuet III Party attack up
Harmodios's Music Shop in Bastok Markets (L-8) sells this up to Minuet III
24 Lightning Threnody Enemy lightning resistance down
Southern San d'Oria somewhere
24 Spirited Etude Party mind up
Port Jeuno's duty-free shop, also in Windurst Woods, not sure where though
25 Mage's Ballad Party MP Regen (1 mp / 3 sec)
The 2nd grouping quest in San d'Oria. Go to Watchtower to get it.
26 Learned Etude Party intelligence up
Port Jeuno's duty-free shop, also in Windurst Woods, not sure where though
27 Horde Lullaby Puts all enemies in range to sleep
Dropped by Yagudo Drummer in Castle Oztorja
28 Quick Etude Party agility up
Port Jeuno's duty-free shop, also in Windurst Woods, not sure where though
29 Advancing March Party attack rate up (sounds better than it is)
Valeriano (Traveling minstrel troupe in 1st ranked city)
30 Vivacious Etude Party vitality up
Port Jeuno's duty-free shop, also in Windurst Woods, not sure where though
31 Hunter's Prelude Single target ranged accuracy up
Nchaa's Good Goods in Windurst Woods (H-13)
32 Dextrous Etude Party dexterity up
Port Jeuno's duty-free shop, also in Windurst Woods, not sure where though
33 Fowl Aubade Party sleep resistance up
Valeriano (Traveling minstrel troupe in 1st ranked city)
33 Magic Finale Removes a random effect from target
Dropped by Yagudo Drummer in Castle Oztorja
34 Sinewy Etude Party strength up
Port Jeuno's duty-free shop, also in Windurst Woods, not sure where though
35 Army's Paeon III Party HP regen (3 hp / 3 sec)
Harmodios's Music Shop in Bastok Markets (L-8) sells this up to Paeon IV
36 Light Carol Party light resistance up
Merry Minstrel Meadhouse in Lower Jeuno
37 Foe Requiem III Enemy damage over time (not sure how much)
Harmodios's Music Shop in Bastok Markets (L-8) sells this up to Requiem IV
38 Earth Carol Party earth resistance up
Merry Minstrel Meadhouse in Lower Jeuno
39 Battlefield Elegy Enemy attack rate down
Helbort's Blades in South San d'Oria
40 Water Carol Party water resistance up
Merry Minstrel Meadhouse in Lower Jeuno
41 Knight's Minne III Party defense up
Guy by chocobo stables in South San d'oria (I-11) sells this up to Minne III
42 Wind Carol Party wind resistance up
Merry Minstrel Meadhouse in Lower Jeuno
43 Valor Minuet III Party attack up
Harmodios's Music Shop in Bastok Markets (L-8) sells this up to Minuet III
44 Fire Carol Party fire resistance up
Merry Minstrel Meadhouse in Lower Jeuno
45 Army's Paeon IV Party HP regen (4 hp / 3 sec)
Harmodios's Music Shop in Bastok Markets (L-8) sells this up to Paeon IV
46 Ice Carol Party ice resistance up
Merry Minstrel Meadhouse in Lower Jeuno
47 Foe Requiem IV Enemy damage over time (not sure how much)
Harmodios's Music Shop in Bastok Markets (L-8) sells this up to Requiem IV
48 Lightning Carol Party lightning resistance up
Merry Minstrel Meadhouse in Lower Jeuno
49 Goblin Gavotte Party blind resistance up
Goblin shop in Jeuno (Muckvix's Junk or something like that)
50 Dark Carol Party dark resistance up
Merry Minstrel Meadhouse in Lower Jeuno
51 Blade Madrigal Party accuracy up
Dropped by Yagudo Lutenist (lvl ~46) in Castle Oztroja or Zvahl Castle
53 Dragonfoe Mambo Party Evasion up
Dropped by Yagudo Lutenist (lvl ~46) in Castle Oztroja or Zvahl Castle
54 Gold Capriccio Party petrification resistance up
Dropped by Yagudo Chanter (lvl ~55) in Castle Oztroja or Zvahl Castle
55 Mage's Ballad II Party MP regen (2 mp / 2 sec)
Treasure Coffer in Castle Zvahl Baileys. Key drops off Demons ~lvl 65
56 Shining Fantasia Party dark resistance up
Dropped by Yagudo Conductor (lvl ~65) in Castle Oztroja
57 Foe Requiem V Enemy damage over time (not sure how much)
Dropped by Yagudo Chanter (lvl ~55) in Castle Oztroja or Zvahl Castle
59 Carnage Elegy Enemy attack rate down
Dropped by Yagudo Chanter (lvl ~55) in Castle Oztroja or Zvahl Castle
60 Victory March Party attack rate up
Dropped by Yagudo Conductor (lvl ~65) in Castle Oztroja
61 Knight's Minne IV Guess
Yag. Conductor in Castle Oztroja or Costal Sahagin in Sea Serp. Grotto
62 Bewitching Etude Party charisma up
Harmodios's Music Shop in Bastok Markets (L-8)
63 Valor Minuet IV Party attack up
Yag. Conductor in Castle Oztroja or Costal Sahagin in Sea Serp. Grotto
64 Logical Etude Party mind up
Harmodios's Music Shop in Bastok Markets (L-8)
66 Sage Etude Party intelligence up
Harmodios's Music Shop in Bastok Markets (L-8)
67 Foe Requiem VI Enemy damage over time (blah)
Yag. Conductor in Castle Oztroja or Costal Sahagin in Sea Serp. Grotto
68 Swift Etude Party agility up
Harmodios's Music Shop in Bastok Markets (L-8)
69 Puppet's Operetta Party calm resistance up
Valeriano (Traveling minstrel troupe in 1st ranked city)
70 Vital Etude Party vitality up (Squenix ran out of words)
Harmodios's Music Shop in Bastok Markets (L-8)
71 Archer's Prelude Single target ranged accuracy up
71 Goddess's Hymnus Party reraise
72 Uncanny Etude Party dexterity up
73 Warding Round Party curse resistance up
73 Chocobo Mazurka Party movement speed up
I hear the guy by chocobo stables in South San d'oria (I-11) sells this
74 Herculean Etude Party strength up
75 Maiden's Virelai Single target charm (oh yeah!)
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08 - Equipment
-------------------
I'll update this more later, but here's a list of useful instruments and what
they do
Instrument Min lvl Effect
Flute 1 Nothing
Flute +1 1 Requiem +1
Maple Harp 1 Nothing
Maple Harp +1 1 Minne +1
Cornette 4 Minuet +1
Cornette +1 4 Minuet +2
Piccolo 9 Threnody +1
Piccolo +1 9 Threnody +2
Harp 14 Minne +1
Harp +1 14 Minne +2
Mary's Horn 14 Lullaby +1 (Dropped by Stray Mary in Konascht)
Royal Spearman's Horn 20 March +1 Charisma +3 (San d'Oria Rank 2 Item)
Traversiere 32 Madrigal +1
Traversiere +1 32 Madrigal +2
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09 - Advanced Tips
-------------------
1. Start singing offensive songs before the puller returns to your group. If
you time it right, the song will take effect right after the puller gets in
range.
2. Likewise, start singing paeon before the mob dies. The paeon should come
out exactly when the battle ends. This way, the puller can immediately pull
the next one instead of waiting around to get paeon.
3. Sing Mage's Ballad and an Etude during downtime before the battle starts.
This way the mages are still covered with ballad even if you fub a few
offensive songs and need to re-sing them.
4. If you get good with range, it is possible to hit only the tank with Minne.
Most of the time this is just way too much hassle to do, but if you have a co-
operative group that understands positioning well, this is possible.
5. Likewise, if your mages stand far enough apart, you can usually hit one
with spirited etude and the other with learned. Again, this is usually not
worth the effort.
6. If you have fast-cast, it's worth stacking say, Paeon I and Paeon II on
your tanks during downtime. Otherwise, it just takes too long to set up.
Paladins and Dark Knights will usually want Paeon and Ballad though.
7. Keep an eye on the battle. Threnodies wear off pretty quickly sometimes,
and Magic Finale is one of the most useful spells you have.
-------------------
10 - FAQ
-------------------
Q: Can you stack two songs of the same type?
A: Yes, but only if their names are difference. So you can stack Paeon I and
Paeon II for 3 hp / 3 sec, but not Paeon I and Paeon I.
Q: Is there any use for more than 1 bard in a group?
A: Yes! With 1 bard each person in the group can have 2 songs. With 2 bards,
each person in the group can have 4 songs! As long as you don't try to play
the same songs, they will all stack. One day I really want to see what 6
high-lvl bards can do. Especially running Soul Voice.
-------------------
11 - Thanks
-------------------
People in my life who don't quite understand my devotion to these games, but
put up with it.
Gamefaqs for hosting this.
Special thanks to FF Monster Tour for most of the information on where to get
many of the songs.
Allakhazam, FFXIOnline, Warcry, and Killing Ifrit for all their work.
My linkshell on Fenrir, Solemnity, for being a great bunch of people.
All my friends on Fenrir. If I tried I list you all I'd probably piss someone
off by leaving out their name, so you know who you are.
Anyone who feels like donating gil to me on Fenrir. :-D
Copyright
This guide is copyright (C)2004 by Gary Tong. All trademarks and copyrights
contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and
copyright holders. No sites are allowed to host this guide without my
permission. Nor is anyone allowed to publish, copy, or otherwise reproduce
this work without my consent. If you would like to host this guide on your
site, email me at joras32@yahoo.com The only site with permission to host
this guide is:
http://www.gamefaqs.com